THE ANNUAL FAMILY & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS GREETING CARD FOR 2014 REVEALED!!

Hey guys...it's Loren.  It's been a hectic few days.   Christmas has come and gone but not before my Christmas card went out to lots of family and friends.  Everyone seemed to love the design and thought it was great because it had a dual purpose.  It was turns into a tree ornament and it can hang on the tree year after year. I love that!!  Above is a close up photo of the entire card folded, glued, cut, glittered and scored.

This year's chosen design did not come from a 'aha' moment like some of my other cards have had.  I didn't get a light bulb going off in my head as I sometimes do.  I had this year's design in mind for quite a while and had done sketches through out the year thinking that possibly I could use it for my Christmas card 2014.  Initially, I was going to go with another idea however, I changed my mind at the last minute after doing lots of sketches for my first idea.  I decided to abandon the idea because it just wasn't feeling like it was the right time to develop it more.  I knew however, that the second idea would take a lot longer to make and I was concerned about the amount of time it would consume.  But I decided to go along with it anyway. 

As I was creating this year's card I was taken back to a card I made back in the day 1984, that had a similar folding and cutting process. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of it.  I have to get it from my family and take a photo of it.  Well, anyhow it was a house with windows cut out and a Christmas tree inside the house that lit up through the window.  It looked really cool when it was hung on the tree and the lights were shining inside of it. I didn't intentionally try to recreate the same card folding and cutting and only realized it when I was cutting out this year's card.

Below are two photos of all the cards hanging on my metal shelf unit.  I think they look quite interesting hanging all together in a row so you can get the magnitude of how they all look together. 

Well, that's a wrap for this post this year.  I hope you liked seeing the card design for 2014.  Please feel free to leave a comment.  It is greatly appreciated.  I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I hope you have a Happy New Year.  I will be back in 2015 with more paintings and posts about the interesting direction I am going in with my painting.  Until then, enjoy!!!

Cheers,

Loren

IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGN

Hey guys...it's that time of year again and you know what that means...?  It's time for the Annual Friends and Family Christmas Card Design.  Every year I come up with a new design to send out at Christmas time.  (You can read more about it on my licensing blog here).  The pressure is always on to create a design that is better then the previous year's before it.  I have done some pretty elaborate designs, such as mobiles, pop-up cards, tin snowmen, holiday house pop ups and even the one I did two years ago that was to be sent to Santa and said in the inside to' just send cash'!   One family member actually sent cash!!  Well,  every year I say I am not going to be able to get one done because in the winter I get down in my mood and the darkness overcomes me.  But in the end, I have managed to get the card designs completed and on time, if only a day or two before the deadline.   I hunker down for 2-3 days and cut, paste, glue and fold over 40 cards and the receivers are always waiting for the card to arrive.



Last year's 2013 Annual Christmas Card
'All Balled Up Snowman'

2013 Christmas Card Design hanging in a row

Last year's 2013 card was said to be the best I've created according to my family and especially my brother Ken(see in photo).  So, this year's has to be even better than that.  I think I have an idea to go with, but not certain yet if it is my final choice.  All of my family, saves the cards I send each year and it is neat to go back and look at how they evolved over the years.  Ken says that he knows it's time to celebrate Christmas when he receives the card, just like the windows being unvailed at the Macy's in New Youk City. The designs definitely have gotten more complicated and detailed.  The stress around the holidays for me is getting the design worked out and getting them finished in time to send out.  It's not just a project I take on...it's a mission.  Yes, I am a woman creator on a mission!



2013 Annual Christmas Card
'All Balled Up Snowman"

This year's design will be posted after I complete it and after everyone has received it in the mail. Then I will discuss how and why I created it.  It's always fun to look into the how's and whys of an idea.  Possibly, one of my favorite things to do next to coming up with the idea itself.  So, stay tuned and be sure to check back to see the progress I am making on the design.

Cheers,

Loren

The 2013 ANNUAL FRIENDS AND FAMILY CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGN REVEALED

Hey guys...it's time to reveal the new Christmas Card Design for 2013.  The cards have all been sent out and hopefully opened by now, so I can show you what I have been up to!

This design was inspired by a expression that my Gram who passed away last year,  would often say when she was confused or trying to focus on something.  She would get mildly frustrated and say, "Wait, wait. I'm all balled up!" I always thought it was so funny when she would say it.   I never knew exactly what she meant when I was growing up, but now I surely do and so does this 'funny snowman'.

The card design was created by hand with black ink.  It was then scanned into the computer and the colors were added to it. I really struggled to get all of the elements to look right and also fit into an envelope at the same time.  I shuffled some things around, cut and paste and found a good place for everything. This 'funny guy' was then cleaned up some and printed out onto card stock to check it out. When all was good, I took them to my printer guy 'Joe' who had me email a copy of the file to him. He printed them out, all on one side on white card stock. They were waiting for me when I picked them up and they looked so cute all in one stack. Now I knew I had to get a move on. 

I knew I had to get down to work because I did not have much time to get them completed and mailed out, too.  I began by cutting them out all the way around the image with scissors leaving a small white border. Little papers were everywhere.  Next I scored and folded them into 3 panels.  The first panel reads, 'I've been a snowman all my life...' The second reads 'but this Christmas has me...' The third reads, 'all balled up! and 'Happy Holidays to you!'  It's kind of confusing to write it out this way, so looking at the photos will surely help.  The card was finally adorned with some colored glitter then left to dry.  When they were done, I started to address them and put them in the envelopes.

Everything about this 'funny snowman' but his hat and one boot is dishelved and out of place.  I thought that this truly reflects what my Gram was saying when she felt overwhelmed.  I know my family and friends and those who knew Gram will surely know what this card is about.  So the next time you get confused or frustrated, just say out loud or to yourself, "I'm all balled up!"  Maybe you will remember this card?

Below are some more photos...

Well, I hope you like this year's design and find that it ranks somewhere up at the top?  Feel free to leave a comment.  I'd love to read what you think.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Cheers, 

Loren

ANNUAL FRIENDS AND FAMILY GREETING CARD DESIGN UPDATE

Hi guys... here is a play by play update for the Loren's Annual Friends and Family Greeting Card Design 2013. Well, the new design was completed on paper and then scanned into the computer to be tweaked some, a couple days ago. I had to make changes from my original idea because it would not fit in the envelope! ARRGGHH!!  I had to spend quite a bit of time making prototypes and moving things around.  Finally, I was satisfied that it was done and I took the new card design to the printer yesterday. Joe, my printer guy, printed them up really nice for me.  They came out
great.
Holy cow...I spent all afternoon and evening yesterday cutting the printed design out of card stock.  After I finished the cutting my hands were killing me.  (I think I have arthritis) The living room was filled with tiny papers and card stock everywhere. UGGHH!! Nevertheless, I managed to get them all done before getting blisters.  After cutting them, I had to put 3 colors of glitter glue on each one.  This took a couple of hours, as well. So, at the end of the evening, I had greeting cards laid out flat and drying everywhere I could find in the living room.  I realized that I still had two more steps to go before I could start writing them out!
Today I spent 2 hours cutting shapes out of the design with an exacto knife.  I now unfortunately, have a blister on my finger!  I thought I was going to stress out over the cutting with the knife because it just seemed like it would never end.  Ultimately, I got the cutting completed and now knew I still had to score the design in two places to fold them.  More hand work.  And I need to write each one out and write out the envelopes.
I thought about abandoning the card altogether, however I had done so much work already, I couldn't give up now. So I stuck with it and now I am almost done and coming down the home stretch.  I anticipate getting them completed over the weekend and mailed out by Monday.  Wheeww... I hope I have enough time to mail them so they will arrive by Christmas Day?
So, this is the update for the new design and I am including a peek-a-boo photo, so you can just get a glimpse of the design.
Stay tuned for the design to be revealed next week. I hope you will think it is something special?  My fingers are crossed.
Cheers,
Loren